Barnhart receives Sorenson award

Kurt Barnhart, professor and head of Kansas State University’s Department of Aviation, was awarded the Frank E. Sorenson Award for 2009 by the University Aviation Association.

The Sorenson Award was presented at the UAA Fall Education Conference Awards Banquet in Wichita, Kan. The Sorenson Professional Educator Award is presented to professional educators who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the field of aviation, comparable to achievements of Frank E. Sorenson, a pioneer in the field of aviation education and a prolific writer. Sorenson wrote aviation education texts, served as a consultant and innovator, and was director of the University of Nebraska Aviation Education Research Group.

Barnhart has an extensive background in aviation, having worked as a flight instructor, an A&P mechanic, a charter pilot, an R&D Engineering Test Inspector for Allison Engine Company, and an aircraft systems instructor for American Trans Air. Before coming to Kansas State University, he was an associate professor in the Aviation Program at Indiana State. Since arriving at K-State, he has worked to establish the K-State at Salina Applied Aviation Research Center, which he now directs. This center has attracted nearly $650,000 in grants, including a $380,240 grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research focused on mission planning for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Barnhart has published extensively in aviation journals such as the Collegiate Aviation Review, the Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education and Research, the Journal of Air Transportation and others, and serves as a consulting editor of the Journal of Air Transportation and the International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies.